The Rose Moon of June

June's full moon rising over the evergreens is as bright and as lustrous as an astronomer's pearl, the great round moon of midsummer, riotous blooming and growing things.

If one follows the modern calendar, the year is half spent, and days are growing shorter again - we are now on the downward slope of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere. If one follows the calendar of the ancients, we are already three quarters of the way along through the turning year, and we are looking toward endings and new beginnings at Samhain (or Halloween). By either calendar, northerners are busy in their gardens, and there is harvest, reaping and "putting things by" in their thoughts. South of the equator, winter is moving slowly toward springtime, and there are thoughts of planting.

We also know this perfect moon as the:

Bass Moon, Big Mouth Moon, Big Summer Moon, Blackberry Moon, Brachmon Moon, Bulbs Mature Moon, Centek Moon, Columbine Moon, Corn Tassels Appear Moon, Dancing Moon, Duckling Moon, Dyan Moon, Egg Hatching Moon, Egg Laying Moon, Eucalyptus Moon, Fatness Moon, Fish Spoils Easily Moon, Fishing Moon, Flowering Cherry Moon, Full Leaf Moon, Gardening Moon, Green Corn Moon, Hoeing Moon, Honey Moon, Hot Moon, Lady Slipper Moon, Leaf Dark Moon, Litha Moon, Lotus Moon, Lovers' Moon, Mead Moon, Middle of Summer Moon, Midsummer Brightness Moon, Midsummer Moon, Moon of Horses, Moon of Little Fawns, Moon of Making Fat, Moon of Planting, Moon of the Turtle, Moon When Green Grass Is Up, Moon When June Berries Are Ripe, Moon When the Buffalo Bulls Hunt the Cows, Moon When the Hot Weather Begins, Moon When the Leaves Are Dark Green, Moon When the Leaves Come out, Moon When They Hill Indian Corn, Oak Moon, Peony Moon, Planting Moon, Pomegranate Moon, Raspberry Moon, Ripening Moon, Ripening Time Moon, Semivisonna Moon, Sixth Moon, Sockeye Moon, Solstice Moon, Strawberry Moon, Strong Sun Moon, Summer Moon, Sun High Moon, Thumb Moon, Turning Moon, Watermelon Moon, Windy Moon